Winter

After the big storm of the last several days of November 2006,
the sun came out and let us dig out of the snow drifts.
While I was talking to the neighbor across the street, Becky was
watching a large deer running through the backyard.

UPDATE: We have had two more BIG winter storms since this one.
We are now "officially tired of winter" and looking forward to spring.

Ice and stone...
a small piece of Colorado sandstone interrupts
the separation of ice and this Missouri limestone wall.
I placed the sandstone in that spot and wonder...
how many years will go by before some chance event moves it
and whether anyone, but me, will ever notice.

Rusty tin birdhouse after snowstorm.
UPDATE: this birdhouse has now officially and completely rusted away.
I found it on the ground and when I picked it up, it crumbled into small rusty flakes.
I let the flakes fall from my hands into the soil, for good or ill...
to change the chemistry in a way that would not have happened
had it not been for my casual intervention.

Frosted leaves...
from a bradford pear, I think.
The temperature was around 8 degrees F when I shot this.
This is from the winter of 2005...
we didn't have winter in 2006 for some reason... which was ok with us
(unless there are repercussions on down the road that nobody has told us about yet).

Maybe it's global warming.
I read that when the great ice sheets melt we will be on the edge of an inland sea.
If that happens in my lifetime...
I will turn our home into a Bed & Breakfast and cater to the beach crowd.

Corkscrew willow after early snowstorm...
this tree was started from a sprig in an anniversary flower arrangement.
The tree is fast growing
but the wood is very brittle and snaps easily under the weight of snow and ice...
especially when the leaves are still on the tree.

I shot this after the sun went down on the first day of December 2006.
I think it was probably a half inch more than this since we had some melting today.
This storm started as heavy rain, changed to freezing rain then sleet and finally very heavy snow.